Iran ready to host CICA foreign ministers' meeting: Amir-Abdollahian

The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.

According to Tasnim news agency, he told Secretary General of the CICA Kairat Sarybay in a meeting in Tashkent on Tuesday that Iran is ready to host a meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states of CICA within the next three months.

Amir-Abdollahian added that the presence of Iran’s president in the Astana Summit and supporting the ratification of CICA indicates a growth in bilateral cooperation.

Sarybay, for his part, emphasized that Iran is an important member of the organization and has a constructive role in the decision making processes of CICA, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.

He added that the secretariat of CICA considers the proposal by Tehran to host a foreign ministers’ meeting as an important step and supports the issue with an open mind.

Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian delivered a speech to the 26th meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers (COM) in Uzbekistan’s Tashkent on Tuesday.

The top Iranian diplomat said the ECO can present a successful model for South-South cooperation, interaction among the landlocked nations and the countries in the transit routes, collaboration among the producers and consumers of energy, as well as people-based cooperation in the tourist industry, scientific, academic and technological fields.

He noted that the global developments in recent years and their impacts on the region have highlighted the necessity of closer convergence and alignment among the regional states.

ME